A few minutes later.
Inside a dungeon, a female swordswoman who was in a party grinding monsters suddenly raised her hand to glance at her communicator.
[Guild Leader Notification: Red Pavilion Inner Circle members, assemble at Blackfire City!]
Instantly, the woman’s pupils contracted sharply.
She immediately spoke up: “That’s enough for today. You all keep grinding.”
The other team members all turned to look at the woman. Quitting halfway through a dungeon run, especially as a key damage dealer, would greatly impact this run.
But no one dared to say a word.
Simply because the woman was a member of the Red Pavilion!
At the same time.
Red Pavilion members scattered across other dungeons, main cities, wilderness areas, and various other locations all received the message!
No matter what they were doing.
Even if they were… in the middle of something, they had to extricate themselves immediately, teleport, and assemble at Blackfire City!
Simultaneously.
Butterfly Valley.
This was the guild headquarters of Mirror Flower, Water Moon.
Liu Xinxin’s message also came through:
“Core members of Mirror Flower, Water Moon, gather outside the teleportation array at Blackfire City’s central square.”
Immediately, the members of Mirror Flower, Water Moon also began a grand assembly in full force!
Naturally.
The Banner-Guarding Army couldn’t be left out of this!
Lei Tai was even more direct. He didn’t even send a message. He simply opened the guild voice channel and, using his guild leader privileges, bellowed: “All commanders of the Banner-Guarding Army, bring your top-tier combatants to Blackfire City!”
Ten minutes later.
Blackfire City’s Central Square.
Aside from the dungeon hall in the distance, the square itself was quite spacious.
But it was very empty. People who came to the square were mostly heading to the dungeon hall; few lingered here.
Suddenly.
From within the teleportation array.
A large group of combatants appeared.
They were a lively, chattering group, all women, uniformly dressed in red robes. Though they appeared alluring, an air of heroic spirit shone from each of their brows.
This sight gave the other combatants in the square a huge fright.
“Whoa, what’s going on? A beauty pageant gathering?”
“They look like people from the Red Pavilion? What’s happening, why is a large Red Pavilion force coming to Blackfire City?”
“Holy cow, they really are from the Red Pavilion!”
“Probably some idiot in Blackfire City offended a Red Pavilion lady, huh?”
“With this kind of display, the offended party probably isn’t just any ordinary lady, but Ye Hongyi herself, right?”
“There have been rumors lately that Ye Hongyi has been active in Blackfire City recently.”
…
The massive assembly of Red Pavilion members gathered together, standing west of the teleportation array, ready and waiting for Ye Hongyi!
Immediately after.
Another group of combatants teleported in as well.
They were from Mirror Flower, Water Moon.
Their attire wasn’t uniform.
Some wore their equipment, others had their gear appearance hidden, dressed in casual clothes. There were both men and women.
But the guild emblems on their chests were exceptionally eye-catching.
“People from Mirror Flower, Water Moon!”
“Members of Mirror Flower, Water Moon are usually so mysterious, why have they assembled in large numbers in Blackfire City all of a sudden?”
“Tsk tsk tsk… The Red Pavilion assembles, and now Mirror Flower, Water Moon shows up. Something big is about to go down!”
“How come I haven’t heard a single thing about this?”
“Two of the Four Major Guilds are here? Damn, our Blackfire City is about to get famous!”
…
Amidst the surrounding clamor.
The tank brigade arrived!
Due to the nature of the Banner-Guarding Army, most who could join were meat shields (tanks) and high-damage dealers. Support/healer classes were comparatively fewer.
And these people were uniformly clad in heavy armor!
Each one like a human-shaped tank, their footsteps thumping dong dong dong on the ground as they marched out of the teleportation array.
A large group, like a herd of bulls, stood in contrast to the Red Pavilion on the west side, creating a stark visual contrast, bursting with masculine energy!
The crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger.
But their minds were more baffled than ever.
“The Banner-Guarding Army! The Banner-Guarding Army is here too!”
“Whoa, it’s my first time seeing the Banner-Guarding Army assembled. This is insane!”
“Damn, who could even scratch these guys?”
“No wonder they’ve been guarding the borders for so many years. They’re all top-tier!”
“Three of the Four Major Guilds are here? Huh?”
“The Red Pavilion, Mirror Flower, Water Moon, the Banner-Guarding Army… why are they all here?”
…
The Four Major Guilds.
Now, only the Heavenly Path Alliance was missing to complete the set.
And having received Liu Xinxin’s notification, the Heavenly Path Alliance naturally wouldn’t be absent!
Although they were the last to arrive.
Their presence was also the most imposing.
After all, the emblem of the Heavenly Path Alliance was far too conspicuous.
As the number one guild in Longxia, and the only guild directly affiliated with the state.
The significance this represented was completely different!
A large contingent of top-tier combatants from the Heavenly Path Alliance marched out in force. Glancing at the other three already assembled and ready forces, they showed some surprise.
But they were equally disciplined, occupying the eastern side, forming ranks, and waiting.
The Four Major Guilds surrounded the teleportation array, leaving it completely sealed off!
Arrayed in the four directions—east, south, west, north.
But one must realize.
People would still teleport into this array from time to time.
Who knows how those teleporting combatants must have felt.
Teleporting from elsewhere, popping into view, opening their eyes to see.
Directly ahead, the formidable Banner-Guarding Army!
To the left, members of Mirror Flower, Water Moon; to the right, the ladies of the Red Pavilion.
Wanting to retreat, turning around to see… the Heavenly Path Alliance!
Scared, some immediately teleported right back out and hurriedly fled.
But even more chose to stay and watch the spectacle.
Unfortunately.
The real spectacle wasn’t here. They were destined not to see anything of substance.
Yu Cangqing arrived late.
Ye Hongyi, Liu Xinxin, and Lei Tai had also arrived.
The four of them met up.
They exchanged glances.
Smiling knowingly at each other.
It seemed they all intended to use their real capabilities to help Lu Ran, also taking the opportunity to strengthen their ties with him.
Because to deal with a single Fort Quadrangle, such a massive display of force was entirely unnecessary.
This move…
Was more like what Ye Hongyi had said: giving Lu Ran the full treatment. Solving the problem was a given, but the spectacle also had to be grand!
With the assembly complete, the four looked at their respective guild forces.
They each issued commands in their guild channels: “Move out! Teleport to Yellow Sand City in the Southern Range Mountains! Target: Fort Quadrangle!”
At the same time.
Inside Fort Quadrangle.
On the defensive wall gate overlooking the mountain pass outside.
Fort Quadrangle’s guild leader, Cao Yuan, stood atop the tall city wall, looking out at the empty, barren mouth of the mountain pass.
Frowning, he said: “Qin Wuyao, your father really doesn’t care whether you live or die, does he? He still hasn’t come. Actually, the grudge between him and me has nothing to do with you. But since he’s too scared to show his face, I can only vent my anger by killing you! I’ll only wait until noon, twelve o’clock!”
Beside him, Qin Wuyao appeared somewhat weak.
On her left and right, there was a curse caster each, using curses to weaken Qin Wuyao while simultaneously suppressing her health.
Keeping her from dying, yet never allowing her to recover to a healthy state.
They had even specifically blocked her communicator, preventing her from contacting anyone freely.
At this moment, Qin Wuyao’s complexion was poor, and her heart held some despair.
She knew that given her father Qin Lie’s personality, he would not use personal matters to seek help from the Heavenly Path Alliance.
And Qin Lie himself had no faction; the Qin family simply couldn’t rival Fort Quadrangle.
If Qin Lie came, he would die.
If Qin Lie didn’t come, she, Qin Wuyao, would die!
In her fading moments, Qin Wuyao sighed. For no particular reason, the image of Lu Ran surfaced in her mind.
Probably… there would be no chance to see Lu Ran again in this lifetime.
